Charting the molecular landscape of the cell

Abstract

Biological function of macromolecules is closely tied to their cellular location, as well as to interactions with other molecules within the native environment of the cell. Therefore, to obtain detailed mechanistic insights into macromolecular functionality, one of the outstanding targets for structural biology is to produce an atomic-level understanding of the cell. One structural biology technique that has already been used to directly derive atomic models of macromolecules from cells, without any additional external information, is electron cryotomography (cryoET). In this perspective article, we discuss possible routes to chart the molecular landscape of the cell by advancing cryoET imaging as well as by embedding cryoET into correlative imaging workflows.